Star Wars Celebration, Day Two

Josh Gadd started off with how big of a fan he is of Star Wars and letting his fandom shine. Then he quickly brought out the first two members of the panel: Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and director Rian Johnson.

The crowd was incredibly happy and thankful to have Johnson out there with them overnight and hanging out with fans. His endearing attitude towards the fans was heavily reciprocated. The film’s well in post-production according to Johnson, and Kennedy described how much Johnson brings to the Star Wars franchise with his skill as a director and writer. Johnson also talked about his magical experience of shooting at Pinewood Studios, on-location in Ireland, and his personal still photography collection taken while on-set.

There was more talk about Carrie Fisher’s involvement in The Last Jedi and Kennedy and Johnson’s experience with her while shooting.

Then actress Daisey Ridley (Rey) was brought out to a barrage of unanswerable questions — other than how much she enjoyed the experience of making The Last Jedi. Ridley was incredulous, but simultaneously proud of her role as the character and being a strong female role.

After a quick stint with BB-8, Gadd invited out actor John Boyega who had not shortage of love for the fans. Boyega also talked about being apart on other films (like the Pacific Rim sequel) and coming back together for The Last Jedi.

Newcomer Kelly Marie Tan (Rose) talked about her character as a maintenance worker in the Resistance and her excitement of being in Star Wars, while Johnson discussed bringing her out as an unlikely hero.

Of course, the panel wouldn’t have been complete without Luke Skywalker – Mark Hamill. He talked a lot about enjoying Johnson as a director, and prepping for re-inhabiting the charter after so many years.

The crowd was initially just a bit upset to hear “just a poster”, but what a poster it is!

but then of course the crowd was over-the-top insane over the teaser trailer…

Nathan Chase is a co-founder and the designer of Flickchart. He's also a multimedia designer & developer living in central Florida, an online culture and social networking enthusiast, a proud father, an avid PC gamer, an incessant movie watcher, known for an eclectic musical taste, and often writing and performing music - on the drums, guitar, piano, or computer.
You can find Nathan on Flickchart as Zampa, and email him at nathan@flickchart.com.